THE military spent tens of thousands of pounds flying top brass around Gulf dictatorships in the last three months of 2018, new figures show.

Admirals, generals and air marshals all enjoyed jet-set trips to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, the UAE and Qatar, costing almost £25,000.

Rear Admiral Nick Hine was the most extravagant flier, charging the public more than £5,000 for his flights to Manama, Bahrai, and Abu Dhabi, UAE, in November, as part of a four-day trip.

The Royal Navy has a base in Bahrain which the country’s pro-democracy activists want shut down, saying it props up their dictator.

Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei from the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird) said the admiral’s visit was “shameful.”

He said: “Bahrain continues to propagate oppression; a strategy recently exemplified by the unlawful executions of two torture victims.

“The British government, meanwhile, seems content to empower Gulf dictators and reward their warmongering in the region — particularly in Yemen, where the world’s most catastrophic humanitarian disaster continues unabated.”

Other controversial trips include a £3,774 business-class trip to Muscat, Oman, by Gen Mark Carleton-Smith, a former SAS commander.

Omani exile Khalfan al-Babwawi told the Morning Star it was “sickening.”

He said: “It shows the extent of the collusion between the British Establishment and a tyrannical regime.”

Another jet-setter was Air Vice Marshal Gerry Mayhew, who racked up a £2,545 for a flight to Riyadh, where he took part in “defence engagement” with the Saudis.

The smallest expense claim was filed by Ministry of Defence civil servant Rupert Timothy Herbert Jones, who charged the public 30 pence for motor mileage clocked up at the military’s headquarters in central London.